Topics - wamille

I am fermenting a holiday-type beer with Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale yeast. I pitched the yeast on December 4th, so I was waiting until this Sunday to check the gravity. However, I was expecting to get a huge, thick krausen given I pitched 3 packets since I didn't make a starter. All were dated 31 October, so there shouldn't be an issue with it viability... I would think. Has anyone else noticed this yeast doesn't make a bigger layer of krausen?

Just wondering if some of you in the US have any ideas about how the Korea/US Free Trade Agreement might affect the sale of American Craft Beer both in the US and South Korea? I live in South Korea and hope to see more American Craft Beer flow into the country. We now have a distributor here (Brewmasters International) that brings in Anderson Valley, Lost Coast, and Rogue beers (five varieties each). Mr. Sung Lee is the owner of the company and he's been importing these beers since around July. The costs of the beers are high, but worth it of course. But the tariff here is 279% on beer and I was wondering if the incremental yearly lowering of the tariff might mean more American Craft Beers start to move out this way. I would think a lot of craft breweries want to increase market share... and Korea is basically a virgin craft beer market just now starting to take shape. Maybe the lowering of the tax will help bring about cracking this beer market wide open... I hope at least.

My spouse wants me to try and make a beer that tastes like a Starbucks Caramel Machiato. Pleasing her tends to make my existence a good bit more tolerable. That said, any suggestions on how I might make such a beer? I came up with this, but I don't know what a caramel machiato tastes like:

A pale ale is fermenting as I write. After 24 hours I had a nice krausen... about an inch of foam on the top with intermittent bubbles coming out of the air lock. However, last night the fermentation went nuts... the lid came off (seal was lost with the lid sitting on top of fermenter still) and the air lock is filled with yeast and goop. I didn't have time to put another clean lid or air lock on my fermenter, so I popped the lid back on. However, with all the goo that is in the air lock and lid... and sides of the bucket... do I have to worry about that stuff developing a bacterial infection that could contaminate my beer?

I found my 1.099 OG dark IPA fermenting like mad upon returning home last night... about 24 hours after I pitched my WLP090 San Diego Super yeast. However, the temperature of my fermenter was showing 75F on my outdoor balcony which was around 67F. I got the temperature down into the mid 60's a few hours later. My question... will the early hours of 75F fermentation produce noticeable off flavors?

My Barley Crusher is having problems crushing. The non-powered roller will not turn. It's only started happening recently. Anyone else had this problem? More importantly, has anyone had the problem and found a fix?

I ordered some fresh/wet hops from a company about two months ago. The harvest is happening within the next seven days and they will send the hops soon after. However, I got this e-mail from the company:

"The Centennial and Simcoe fresh hops are arriving tomorrow. My concern is that with the holiday weekend and the amount of time it takes to ship orders to you that we can not guarantee that these hops will survive the trip. Please notify me asap if you would like to switch your order to overnight, make a substitute or cancel your order. The Citra is expected to arrive on Wednesday, Sept 7th and will have been harvested on Sunday, Sept 4th. They recommend using the hops within 5 days after harvest. I am uncertain you will even receive your hops within this time frame. Please email or call us regarding your order. Otherwise, I will ship tomorrow in hopes that they will make it."

I don't understand how the hops could go bad if they are vacuum sealed. I have no experience with fresh/wet hops. What should I do? I live in South Korea and it could take five to seven days to get here. Any advice is appreciated.

I'm thinking about a third attempt at a seasonal beer with pumpkin as an ingredient. I've used pumpkin in the mash... I've used it in the boil. So I figure this time I'll throw it in the primary fermenter or secondary since I haven't tried it there yet. To those experience with pumpkin (and pumpkin pie spices), what's the best way to use pumpkin in the fermenter? I was thinking about making a pumpkin bread-like loaf and let it harden.... and slicing or breaking the bread up into pieces and throwing it into the fermenter to impart some pumpkin pie flavor. I'd appreciate any comments that might help me in my quest to make a pumpkin porter-type beer.

I have a yeast starter on the stir plate. It's been there about 36 hours now. I plan on brewing Saturday. Should I take the starter off the yeast plate and put it in the fridge for storage until Saturday? Or keep it on the stir plate? Or take it off the stir plate and leave it in my air conditioned room (around 72F)? I knew I wouldn't have time to do the yeast starter later in the week. Suggestions?

I made a Sweetwater IPA wannabee a month or so ago with Denny's Favorite (Wyeast 1450). I really like this yeast. I kegged it about two weeks ago, but left it and about a half gallon of beer in the fermenter. It's been setting in my house since. Is the yeast still viable to use for a beer I plan to brew next week? The temperature hasn't gotten above 80F, but are such high temperatures bad for the leftover yeast? Opinions are welcome!

I'm getting ready to make a hoppy IPA soon and was hoping to get some ideas on the best way to use low cohumulone hops in the hop mix. Furthermore, I can't seem to find a chart that fully lists the sprectrum of low cohumulone hops. I have Warrior and Glacier on hand and know they are low cohumulone, but would like to have a full listing. I know there are many, but a definitive source would be great.

I'm leaving to go on vacation soon. So I've placed almost completely fermented beer in my fridge while I'm gone. The gravity is currently 1.014 (almost, if not, done). I'll be leaving it in the fridge at 50F until mid July. Will this temperature allow for the clearing of diacetyl and other flavor compounds? Or should I leave it on my porch for another week prior to leaving and then put it in the fridge while I'm gone?

I brewed a beer recently that has a soapy taste. I understand Palmer says that soapy tastes could be from a soapy glass or from beer setting too long in the primary fermenter. Neither case applies here. So I'm wondering what else it could be. I've also seen on other sites where some have added a tiny bit of dissolved gypsum to the finished beer in hopes this would take the soapy flavors away. Has anyone tried this? Or has anyone had experience with this type of soapy flavor in one's beer?